Tutto Bene @ Southgate, Southbank

Tutto Bene.. I came here a few years ago upon recommendation that THIS is where the Italian President dined once on his diplomatic visit to Melbourne and Loved it…

Famous for their Risottos’… they have a Risotto Chef who has won a silver acolade in the World Intercontinental Risotto competition, held in 1999 in Verona Italy.

As usual, we are one of the few early guests and is shown a nice table without any fuss or prior booking… (they are pretty use to this, given that they are within close proximity to the Victorian Arts Centre)

I quite like the use of a chalk board pillar to highlight the specials of the day.

We start off with beautiuful fresh bread and olive oil (presumably made by themselves)

We start of with some light entrees’ (I warned the Boy that the Risotto’s were filling)

And I had an interesting Risotto special of the day (having tried before the fantastic Anatra, funghi e salvia – Braised duck, porcini mushroom and
sage $23.50)…

I can’t remember what the exact name of the dish was called… but it had Duck… it was a ragu… and it had chocolate and red wine… (I ordered based on my curiosity)… it wasn’t the best tasting risotto… but it wasn’t a bad risotto…

All in all, another great experience at Tutto Bene and I wonder why I don’t go back as often…

*Disclaimer: All food ratings are purely based on my own experiences and how I feel about the service, food and quality

Food/ Cuisine: ItalianOverall Food Rating: 8/10 (Seriously, the best risotto’s ever! If you don’t try to be adventurous like me!)Restaurant ambiance: 7.5/10Service/ Attitude: 7.5/10Value for money: 7/10 (Seriously, for the quality and perfection of the Risottos… it’s good value; I’m not saying that you shouldn’t try anything else on their menu, I have and it was yum… but every other Italian place do those just as well…. but good Risottos are hard to come by)